


Moss

by qvill



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Velrisa POV, little sad, mentions of Ob'nockshai, mentions of claire - Freeform, okay its a little snippet and i needed to write Something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24127531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qvill/pseuds/qvill
Summary: " When footsteps approach, light and hesitant, she doesn’t turn. She keeps her hands near the embers, watching as they dance along her fingertips.“Let’s talk,” Br’aad says, and walks away.Velrisa stands, feeling the warmth drain from her fingers as she withdraws them from the flame, and follows the half-elf into the woods. "or, br'aad has a conversation about parallels.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	Moss

**Author's Note:**

> okay so I had an idea whilst on a walk, and what do you do when trying to write a long fic? 
> 
> write a short one, of course!
> 
> anyway, I left a lot of setting details vague bc im tired and don't feel like hunting for proper details, but it still works !!

\--

She’s numb. 

Fingertips tingle with faint sensation as they grace the edge of the worn shovel, and muscles distantly hum as she shoves dirt over Claire. One swing, then another, pinpricks dart across her palms as a splinter slips into the lavender skin, and she’s numb to it all. 

Her prayers are chilled, and Velrisa’s tiefling form has never quite been accustomed to cold. 

Now? It’s quite everpresent, even as she kindles a fire, occasionally jostling the amber-encrusted logs. Her fingers hover among the flames, and when they pull back, they’re humming again, with a frosty sensation that is soon enveloped into the encompassing buzz. 

When footsteps approach, light and hesitant, she doesn’t turn. She keeps her hands near the embers, watching as they dance along her fingertips. 

“Let’s talk,” Br’aad says, and walks away. 

Velrisa stands, feeling the warmth drain from her fingers as she withdraws them from the flame, and follows the half-elf into the woods. 

\-----

Br’aad’s sitting on a log when she catches up, beside the gnarled, uprooted end. His hands rest in his lap, clasped together, fidgeting. His face, however, is startlingly emotionless, flat and stoic as his gaze remains pinpointed on a particularly interesting clump of moss. 

Velrisa sits on the other end of the log, where the aged trunk splinters into jagged spires, faint burn marks from forgotten storms lingering on the edges. 

Her gaze is drawn to the same clump of moss, and the two sit in silence. 

Br’aad opens his mouth to speak once, then twice, reconsidering each time. 

Another minute later, and he sighs. It’s a horribly dejected sound, discordant as its pulled from the jovial spellcaster. 

“Velrisa,” Br’aad says. “I… think I need to tell you a little story. I can’t say most of it, for… _reasons_ , but I’ll do what I can.”

“My patron—Ob’nockshai— is… _interesting_ ? He’s kinda been a trickster for as long as I knew him, and while I was tolerated, I suppose, our interactions focused on _games._ ” Br’aad’s hands twitch, and he begins to fidget once more, tracing the golden marks on the back of his hand. “Some were just proposals of changing a situation, a little bit, while others were challenges. Dares. Like our… shenanigans with Thardo? A little deal, either do it or lose Liveclock.” 

Velrisa blinks at the knowledge, eyes furrowing. Br’aad continues. “Other times, there were legit games, like chess, but then there were _offers_ . A this-or-that proposal, where neither was a _win_. And all I could do was play.” 

“Again: I _literally_ can’t tell you much, but I _can_ say this: it was a deal. A choice. Your well-being, versus that of a child,” Br’aad’s voice trails into a whisper, but Velrisa catches it all the same. She tenses. “A little boy, a young artistic prodigy. Loved by his family and village, the light in their lives,” he continues, and Velrisa catches sight of his mouth turning into a slight smile. Tears slowly begin to accumulate at the edge of his eyes. 

“Or you. And Vel, I… _we_ needed you. We wouldn’t have beaten the hunters without all of us there, we would have been dead long before, without your healing, and yet…” his breath hitches. “I _couldn’t_ condemn this fucking kid to a death. He wouldn’t even know it was _me_ , but I _didn’t_ , because I looked up to Taxi and Sylnan and _you_ for morals, and I knew, I _knew_ that it wasn’t the right thing to do. That I couldn’t kill a _child_ and look you in the eyes.”

“And sure, things… worked out, but Vel— I spent so long thinking over that choice, over how _close_ I was to throwing his life away to cover up… natural mistakes,” Br’aad tentatively says, and Velrisa doesn’t miss how he winces as the words leave his mouth. “I don’t know why it disturbed me so much. Maybe the power of the situation. Maybe that I had the option to take away everything this kid had. Maybe it’s because I’m the youngest, and I… couldn’t bring myself to deny this kid what I never had. Loving family, hope, support— it would have been _so easy_ to let it be an anonymous, twisted act of revenge for my own childhood. And I _didn’t_.”

“Because I wanted to keep you all proud.” 

“But Velrisa? You… _killed_ that child without hesitation, and I’m… aghast. What the _fuck_ are morals worth anymore? What the _fuck_ is my choice worth?” Br’aad grits his teeth, nails digging into his palm. “After all my pain and worrying over my decision, and— trust me, I try not to think because it hurts less that way— and…. and…” 

Br’aad sighs, shoulders slumping. “We’re still a team. That’s inevitable. We still need you, and I can’t deny the others that,” he admits. “I… still care about you, deep down, but I’m lying if I didn’t say, even after everything I’ve been through, that I’m disturbed.” 

Br’aad’s hand unclenches. He stands. 

“Velrisa,” he says. “I am so very glad that you’re alive.” 

He turns, and walks back into the trees. 


End file.
